For authors, consultants, coaches, and subject-matter experts who are serious about producing a professional book — not just finished, but genuinely good.
Start the conversationYou have a manuscript. It might be polished, or it might be close. Either way, you need someone who knows how books work — how they read, how they flow, how they need to be formatted for publishing — to take it from draft to done.
I've spent more than 20 years in communications, journalism, and publishing. During that time I've founded a weekly newspaper, designed regional magazines, ghostwritten a dozen books, and edited everything from blog posts to annual reports to full-length nonfiction.
I know the difference between a manuscript that's almost there and one that's ready.
This service is for authors who are serious about producing a professional book — not just finished, but genuinely good.
Developmental editing looks at the structure of the book. Does it hold together? Does it have a good cadence? Are there sections that drag, jump, or repeat? This is the big-picture pass — the one that shapes the manuscript before the sentence-level work begins.
Line editing goes sentence by sentence — tightening prose, improving clarity, cutting what doesn't need to be there, and making sure the writing sounds like you throughout.
Copyediting addresses grammar, punctuation, spelling, consistency, and style. Every pass catches something the last one missed. This is the layer that makes a book feel finished rather than rushed.
Formatted for print-on-demand (KDP, IngramSpark) or volume printing. Includes chapter headings, body text, front matter, back matter, headers and footers, and graphic elements.
I don't design covers but will give written feedback on your cover design, or refer you to a cover designer if you need one. If you already have a designer working on a cover, a professional second set of eyes is worth having before it goes final.
Before your files go to the printer or distributor, I do one complete proofread pass on the laid-out document to catch spacing and formatting errors, widows, orphans, and anything that shifted during layout.
Full manuscript review. You receive a written summary of what the editing will address before work begins.
Developmental and line editing returned with tracked changes and notes.
You review, respond, and return. One round of revisions is included.
Copyediting, layout, final proofread. Print-ready files delivered.
Ideally, each project begins with a phone or Zoom call to set the project scope, expectations, and schedule. Throughout your project we'll communicate by phone, email, and/or Zoom.
If the manuscript is still in early development, or if the timeline is under two weeks, this is not the right fit.
When the time is right, the process and communication are clear, and the outcome is a book you're proud to put your name on.
If you have a manuscript and a deadline, the first step is a short conversation. Send a brief description of your project (genre, word count, where you are in the process, and your target publication date) and we'll figure out together whether this engagement is the right fit and whether the timing works.
mel@melodymarler.com melodymarler.com